There’s already been a number of highly creative Halloween-themed campaigns this October. Here are four of the best.

Chipotle

Health-minded fast-food chain Chipotle is bringing back its annual “Boorito” event this year. Customers who show up at a Chipotle store on Halloween after 5 pm will be able to buy a burrito for only $3.00. The campaign has been highly successful for Chipotle in the past, not only in terms of getting people into the store but also in terms of generating online buzz.

Great marketing is all about combining time-tested methods (i.e. product discounts) with creativity and fun. Chipotle has managed to achieve just that while bolstering its image as a fast-food chain for the modern generation. That $3.00 burrito will look mighty appealing to Millennials stumbling between Halloween parties on October 31st.

MAC Cosmetics

The most famous campy Halloween classic of all time – The Rocky Horror Picture Show – is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and as part of the celebration it’s teamed up with MAC Cosmetics to promote a bold new make-up line. The collection of outrageous colours and products are specifically designed to help fans of the cult classic recreate the looks of their favourite characters from the film.

As part of the campaign, actors were hired to lip-sync and recreate scenes from the movie in select stores across Canada. I was wandering around Toronto Eaton Centre the other week when I was enticed to enter a MAC store for the first time in my life by a pair of Dr. Frank N. Furter and Columbia look-a-likes singing “Don’t Dream It – Be It” (I may have been singing along … in my head of course). What a fun way to collaborate and promote a new product line!

Target

Target is a newcomer to the Canadian market. This year, they’ve launched an original Halloween-themed virtual trick-or-treat campaign on Instagram, using the social network’s picture-tagging feature and their own original content to prepare consumers for the holiday.

Instagram users who follow Target will see nine images of the fictional “Halloween Hills” neighbourhood on Target’s profile. Each taggable image has two homes – a trick and a treat – that users can click on to be transported to different profiles. The “treats” link to Halloween-themed recipes like cauldron cupcakes, while the “tricks” link to do-it-yourself projects like a spooky night-light.

The campaign capitalizes on the growing Halloween DIY trend. Naturally all of the items featured in the DIY projects are available at Target stores.

Pinterest

Pinterest is one of the fastest-growing social networks around. Now they’re ready to capture the rest of the market.

Capitalizing on its reputation as the place to go for DIY inspiration, Pinterest has launched a campaign attempting to promote the site to non-users. At the core of the campaign is a 30-second spot featuring a mother and father browsing Pinterest for costume ideas and then creating a train conductor costume for their young son. The tagline at the end reads “Make it A Handmade Halloween.”

The social network has partnered with popular YouTubers and media companies like Cracked and eHow to create Halloween-themed boards. They also teamed up with Funny or Die, who produced a funny video spoofing makeup tutorials. This campaign is a great example of how to use humour and existing influencers to reach a wider audience.

With two weeks to go still until Halloween, I’m excited to see what other innovative campaigns are yet to come. Happy Halloween!